When my wife and I needed to replace our 1998 Legacy wagon, we looked at a number of vehicles. The two that stood out most were the Mazda5 and the Kia Rondo.Personally, I liked the Mazda5 for it's sportiness, 5-speed manual and lower price. However, we bought a Rondo EX V6 7-seater since the Mazda5 is not rated to tow at all. The Legacy, with 16 fewer hp, could tow 2000 lbs (with trailer brakes, according to the car's manual) so this lack of towing capability is perplexing to me. The Rondo V6 can tow 2,500 lbs with trailer brakes (according to our car's manual) plus the V6 is buttery smooth. Also, the Mazda5 has slightly less cargo carrying capacity than the Legacy, and we did not want to take a step backward in terms of practicality. The Rondo has about 5 cu ft more capacity than the Legacy with the seats folded, not a lot but still it is an increase.However, if I was choosing just for me, it would have been the Mazda5, but since I was choosing for my family and our needs as a whole, the Rondo was a much better fit.Too bad though that neither is AWD. But the dealer threw into the deal a set of winter rims with winter tires, studded/balanced/mounted, so wintertime should not be a problem, what with all the Rondo's electronic nannies!(I am in Newfoundland, so there is lots of snow and ice to contend with).

A reporter seeks to talk with owners and serious shoppers of the 2007 or 2008 Mazda5 OR the 2007 or 2008 Kia Rondo who are also parents. If you are interested in commenting on your experience, please reply to jfallon@edmunds.com no later than Thursday, November 15, 2007 and include your city and state of residence as well as the age of your child/ren.

Some of the Mazda5 missing features that have been discussed in this comparison thread are now available in the 2008 model.

This is not an exhaustive list, but some of the ones I recall are:- 2nd row A/C vents and a new cloth/leather interior choice (mentioned in an earlier reply already)- Needed more Armrests (front passenger seat and door-side 2nd row seats have now been added)- Aux MP3 Input is now standard- Bluetooth Wireless Data Link for Hands-Free Phone (Grand Touring Model only)- 5AT replaces 4AT

Anyone with any experience of having passengers in the 3rd row of the Rondo on a hot day? I'm just wondering how any AC gets back there. There are vents for the 2nd row, but they're too low to reach the 3rd row. Unless you have the fan set to the highest speed and pointed up, I can't imagine how any cool air would get back there.

On the new Mazda5 they now have the AC vents behind the front center console like in the Rondo; however, since there is no 2nd row bench to block the flow of air, I can see how the 2nd row AC vents pointed straight back would get to the 3rd row passengers, but even with these it seems like your upper body would get pretty warm, especially if the sun was on you.

In the December 2007 issue of Consumer Reports, there is finally a review of the Rondo (sorry, no link). The Rondo got a score of 76 out of 100 (thanks, viking79, for that info). The Mazda5 got a score of 86 in CR's 2007 annual auto issue, topping the "Wagons and Hatchbacks" category. If the Rondo were included in that category, it would have been tied for fourth out of 22 vehicles.

I agree, there are no other cars like them in NA really. Next car comparison is going to have the Mazda5 and/or Rondo vs. school buses, horse carriages or even car rental/airport shuttles. Hey, as long as both haul people :P

As a Rondo owner, I'm continually amazed with the amount of good reviews and recommendations that the Rondo has been getting. For the Mazda5 to get similar praise seems to be a given, but we're talking about a Kia here. I keep half expecting the curtain to be pulled back and the little old man to be exposed using smoke and mirrors. Alas, the continual good news about the Rondo just verifies that I made the right choice for myself. You would think my real world experience with the Rondo should be good enough proof. Nope. I guess I'm not a secure enough person and need the positive reinforcement.

Like I've said in the past, I don't think you can go wrong with either vehicle. The generally positive evaluations that both vehicles have been getting is proof of that. I don't think either vehicle has a major weakness, but they do have relative strengths and weaknesses when compared to each other (which is the point of this thread). All you can do is point out those relative strengths and weaknesses according to your own point of view and let others agree or disagree with you.

BTW, I'm not trying to sound "fair and balanced" just for the benefit of Mazda5 owners. I'm not toning it down here and letting out my true feelings at an external Rondo forum (and those Rondo owners at that external forum will back me up on this if needed, hopefully). This is indeed what I truly think. Make no mistake--I obviously prefer the Rondo and I've pointed out why I prefer it. But I really am impressed with the Mazda5, too. About the worst thing I've ever said about the 5, here or at that external forum, is that it looks like a minivan. In fact, from what I've witnessed, Rondo owners in general seem to be a humble bunch. They don't obsess much over which vehicle is "better." I can't even remember the last time a Rondo owner made what can be construed as a mocking remark about the "competition" (the old "mock others to build yourself up" trick--I'm not talking about informative criticism here).

Okay, I need to say this, so bear with me. All forum discussions seem to suffer from this kind of misunderstanding: if one were to say, "I like dogs," someone will inevitably ask, "Why do you hate cats?" The point is, don't read too much into it. So when I say Rondo owners are generally humble, I'm not implying that Mazda5 owners are not. When I say Rondo owners don't obsess much over which vehicle is better, I'm not implying that Mazda5 owners do obsess over it. How the heck would I know what Mazda5 owners are like, anyway? Sure, I've hung out at Mazda forums before I purchased the Rondo, but I don't have any lasting impression to make a generalized comment about Mazda5 owners. And when I say that I see merit in both vehicles, I'm not implying that everyone should see things the same way. Etc., etc., blah, blah, blah.

Looks like the Mazda 5 is not doing too well in the US with October sales of 558 units (Oct 2006 928 units), the Rondo had sales of 2751 for the same month (Oct 2006, 3 units - where did they come from :confuse: )Wonder when the US is going to start getting 2008 models?

North of the border in Canada (you know that place where the dollar is worth more than the US greenback ) they sold 828 Rondo's (one of them was my EX 2.4L model), however, I don't have the sales for the Mazda 5 for October, but generally it outsells the Rondo.

I have been trying to decide between the Rondo and the Mazda5. I want a replacement for my 1999 Toyota Sienna and the new minivans have just gotten too big for my tastes and garage. I'd like something small that still has the option of third row seating.

I test drove both the V4 and V6 Rondo and liked the V6 a lot more than I thought I would. I like the concept of the Mazda5. My favorite feature is the sliding doors, which would protect me from door dings in my garage. But I have yet to test drive the Mazda5 for one major reason. I can't understand why a car model that has been out since 2006 has not been crash tested? Is Mazda trying to hide something? I think this is inexcusable. I would also like to see ECS on the Mazda5, which seems to be standard equipment on most of its competitors.

BTW, I also looked at the Mitsubishi Outlander which I liked the best of the three for its exterior appearance. But I did not like its very dark interior and its clamshell third seat was a joke.

Not to nitpick but the 4 cylinder in the Rondo is an inline 4, written as I4 or L4. No cars sold in North America have V4's.I have a V6 Rondo but also looked at the Mazda5, which I liked tremendously. I decided against it since it is not rated to tow at all, whereas the Rondo can tow 2000 lbs.

I just purchase a week ago a 2008 Rondo EX 5-seater with the 2.4L 4-cylinder (Canadian model). The performance of this engine is outstanding and for my purpose I could see no reason to purchase a V6. It out-performs my previous vehicle, which was a '86 Old Cutlass Ciera with a 2.8L V6!I also considered the Mazda 5, but in my case I did not like the sliding rear door and also had no reason for requiring the rear 3rd seats, I also didn't like the black interior on the Mazda 5, prefer the lighter grey version on my Rondo. I found the Rondo offered more features for the dollar and a longer warranty. Having driven it for a week now (only have 440km on it) I find the stereo outstanding, and enjoying those heated seats and heated outside mirrors. Had the opportunity to check it out very closely yesterday and found the fit and finish hard to fault - very well put together. Only time will tell if this continues. Not put any gas in it yet, so hard to tell how the mileage will work out.

Agree, there may not be (yet) NHTSA American centric crash test results, but if the Mazda5 passed the Japanese NCAP and EuroNCAP crash tests with the highest ratings, then there should not be anything to hide in my opinion (BMW, Volvo, Honda or even Renault in Europe and Japan would be a good comparison point).

Quoting myself here:In the December 2007 issue of Consumer Reports, there is finally a review of the Rondo (sorry, no link). The Rondo got a score of 76 out of 100 (thanks, viking79, for that info). The Mazda5 got a score of 86 in CR's 2007 annual auto issue, topping the "Wagons and Hatchbacks" category. If the Rondo were included in that category, it would have been tied for fourth out of 22 vehicles.

I went to the Tampa Auto Show yesterday and checked out the Rondo (no Mazda5's there.....don't think the 2008's are out yet....but, I own a 2007 to compare it to). I really liked the Rondo. If I did not require sliding rear doors, I would have selected the Rondo over the Mazda5.